NGC3718/3729

NGC3718 is a gravitationally highly disturbed spiral galaxy located in the direction of the Constellation Ursa Major about 52 Million Light-Years distant. Its neighbor NGC3729 is also a disturbed spiral galaxy with an intense star-forming ring around its nucleus, and is about 150,000 Light-Years from NGC3718. There are definite signs that the two have ripped star trails and dust from each others sphere of gravitational influence. The extremely warped and distorted shape of NGC3718 is a testament to the powerful gravitational forces between the two galaxies. A mojor amount of dust in NGC3718 seems to have been drawn into a warped straight line about 80,000 Light-Years long.

Object: NGC3718/3729
Distance: 52 Million Light-Years
Magnitude: 10.5
Date: January 2012
Place: Fort Davis, Texas
Exposure Details: LRGB:580:140:170:230 unbinned

Processing: MaxIm DL Pro, CCDStack, CCDInspector, Photoshop CS3, etc.

Optics: RCOS 12.5" Truss
Focal Length: 2808mm @ f9
Mount: Paramount ME Robotic
Camera: SBIG STL6303E
Focuser: RCOS
Guiding: Off-Axis SBIG Remote Guide Head
Filters: LRGB Tru-Balance Gen II 2"